Savannah

Savannah, GA has been a goal of White Pepper's during this entire trip south. Visiting Savannah by boat, however, is not easy. The Savannah River is narrow and treacherous. The waterfront is industrial and there are no downtown marinas or anchorages. Most boaters find a nearby marina and arrange ground transportation into the city. We were so fortunate that our cruising buddies, Rick and Suz Bear, ex of Allergic to Cities were staying on nearby Skidaway Island with Suz' father, Bob. I mentioned Delegal Marina in the previous post. It is on Skidaway Island and was well worth the challenge to get there. Skidaway Is. is interesting in its own way. It is a Hilton Head variant, but now has a demographic problem. It was pioneered as an upscale retirement community 20 years ago. Now the 65 year olds have become 85. They are no longer able to play golf on the 6 beautiful courses or support the club. With the real estate crisis these seniors or their families can not sell the dream house either. I am certain renewal with come eventually but not without pain. It is a beautiful place. And I wonder how Hilton Head is doing?

We drove into Savannah and during the drive passed of the actual Moon River. My interest in Savannah was entirely driven by the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which has to be the all time best selling travel book. For those readers who have not read it, the book describes a murder and trial of eccentric people in very odd surroundings--downtown Savannah. The waterfront of Savannah has been highly gentrified and is now a proper tourist destination with bars, art galleries and candy shops. This is a distinct upgrade from the book. Residential Savannah is grouped around 22 squares of various sizes. These were all laid out by the founder Gen. Oglethorpe. There are many old churches here including one of the oldest synagogues in America. Of interest to Jan and I, John and William Wesley, the founders of Methodism, served here. Their service was not happy, but that is another long story. On one of these squares is the Mercer-Williams house. The Mercer part of the name relates to Johnnie Mercer, who wrote 'Moon River.' Williams was the man accused of murder in book and movie. Most of the action took place here. The pic above is of Jan and I in front of the house and then there is a pic of Jan with Johnie Mercer himself on Ellis Square. Another beautiful part of the city is Forsythe Square. One of the pics is of us with Rick and Suz in front of the Confederate Memorial.

The day we were visiting was quite cold and most of the tourists were off the streets. This phenomenon left the locals more visible. I noticed an unusual number of rail thin brunette young women, many in spike heels and wearing sunglasses in the wan winter sunlight. When I finally mentioned this to our hosts, we were told that these ladies were likely students of the well regarded Savannah College of Art and Design--SCAD. This school apparently holds great influence in downtown Savannah and directs much of the restoration. Another group of citizens well represented were African-American men. They were perfectly well mannered and most were selling bluish-green roses made of palm fronds. They did seem to be idlers in an idyllic city.

It was an excellent visit and if we ever get a chance to return I would like to spend much more time in Savannah.